Little Rays of Twilight
by Treegirl4
Summary: A collection of random short stories using Twilight characters. Different POVs, some OCs. Rated T, just in case. Not connected at all, so you don't have to read them in order. Enjoy!
1. Mute Expectations

**A/N: Okay, this is just a quick story I wrote when I was bored in History. Just a random idea I thought of and wrote down. As always, read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!**

Because I couldn't talk, everyone assumed I couldn't hear either. People assumed a lot about me- most people thought I was stupid as well. They spoke like I wasn't there, and never bothered to lower their voices or anything. But I didn't mind too much. I liked listening to doctors talking about patients, nurses talking about doctors and patients talking about other patients and their families and friends. You learnt so much by just listening.

I wouldn't have picked Dr. Cullen to be the kind of person to not realize I could hear. He seemed to be a very understanding person, but people weren't always what they appeared to be. In all fairness to him, I did have my eyes closed at the time- he could easily have assumed I was asleep. Maybe that's why he said what he said, revealing his secret to someone who could never tell anyone.

Dr. Cullen was visiting my ward, making his usual rounds. He was standing at the end of my bed when his son, Edward, came in. My eyes flicked open when I heard his voice- I had always liked Edward. He had smiled at me once, but he hadn't spoken. Maybe because he knew I couldn't reply.

Edward looked agitated, a state I'd never seen him in. That's why I shut my eyes- as much as I like listening to people talking, seeing people in distress was something I'd never enjoyed.

"Carlisle," Edward said in his beautiful voice.

"Edward," Dr. Cullen replied. "What's wrong?"

The bed on my left was vacant and the other held a patient who seemed to be almost always asleep. So Edward talked normally. And even though I kept my lids closed, I was shocked by what I heard.

"I told her, Carlisle." Edward said.

Dr. Cullen seemed to know who 'she' was, and what Edward had told her.

"And how did she react?" he asked. His voice stayed relatively calm, with only a hint of worry in it.

"Too well." Edward said. "She isn't bothered by it at all. In fact, she half guessed before I told her. A Quiltete told her, one of the kids."

I didn't understand what he was saying. Normally I could understand conversations by listening to a bit of them, but I couldn't make head or tail of what Edward was saying.

"Hmmm." Dr. Cullen said thoughtfully.

"I wish she didn't know." Edward said.

When Dr. Cullen replied, he sounded surprised.

"Would you prefer she didn't know the truth?"

"Yes," Edward replied. He lowered his voice just a tiny bit, but I could still hear. "I don't know how she can love me the way I am. As a vampire."

A tiny shiver went down my spine when he said that. The way he said that, I knew it was true- not some personal joke or anything. Edward truly was a vampire, or at least he believed he was. And Edward was not insane, I knew that.

Head spinning with this information, I tried to sit up. Having only one arm that responded made this a difficult task. I opened my eyes; slowly, as if I was just waking up. Dr. Cullen and Edward immediately drew apart- they had been standing close together when they talked- and Dr. Cullen came over and started asking normal doctor questions. I tried to answer them normally and not stare at Edward. But I couldn't resist glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He caught me staring and smiled. I smiled back.

People were _never _what you expected them to be.


	2. Asked Out

**A/N: Okay, so I wrote this story and then realized you'd have no idea what it was about unless you'd read Midnight Sun. So, for those of you who haven't, the relevant portion is below. **

**(Edward knows Angela likes Ben, and wants to give her a 'gift' because he's been watching Bella through her mind so much and she's a nice mind to be in. So he ropes Emmett in for 'an experiment in human nature').**

As I searched for a distraction, I caught sight of Ben Cheney entering the Spanish room ahead of us. Ah—here was my chance to give Angela Weber her gift.

I stopped walking and caught Emmett's arm. "Hold on a second."

_What's up? _

"I know I don't deserve it, but would you do me a favor anyway?"

"What is it?" he asked, curious.

Under my breath—and at a speed that would have made the words incomprehensible to a human no matter how loud they'd been spoken—I explained to him what I wanted.

He stared at me blankly when I was done, his thoughts as blank as his face.

"So?" I prompted. "Will you help me do it?"

It took him a minute to respond. "But, why?"

"C'mon, Emmett. Why not?"

_Who are you and what have you done with my brother? _

"Aren't you the one who complains that school is always the same? This is something a little different, isn't it? Consider it an experiment—an experiment in human nature."

He stared at me for another moment before he caved. "Well, it is different, I'll give you that… Okay, fine." Emmett snorted and then shrugged. "I'll help you."

I grinned at him, feeling more enthusiastic about my plan now that he was on board. Rosalie was a pain, but I would always owe her one for choosing Emmett; no one had a better brother than mine.

Emmett didn't need to practice. I whispered his lines to him once under my breath as we walked into the classroom.

Ben was already in his seat behind mine, assembling his homework to hand in. Emmett and I both sat and did the same thing. The classroom was not quiet yet; the murmur of subdued conversation would continue until Mrs. Goff called for attention.

She was in no hurry, appraising the quizzes from the last class.

"So," Emmett said, his voice louder than necessary—if he were really speaking only to me. "Did you ask Angela Weber out yet?"

The sound of papers rustling behind me came to an abrupt stop as Ben froze, his attention suddenly riveted on our conversation.

_Angela? They're talking about Angela? _

Good. I had his interest.

"No," I said, shaking my head slowly to appear regretful.

"Why not?" Emmett improvised. "Are you chicken?"

I grimaced at him. "No. I heard that she was interested in someone else."

_Edward Cullen was going to ask Angela out? But… No. I don't like that. I don't want him near her. He's…not right for her. Not…safe. _

I hadn't anticipated the chivalry, the protective instinct. I'd been working for jealousy. But whatever worked.

"You're going to let that stop you?" Emmett asked scornfully, improvising again.

"Not up for the competition?"

I glared at him, but made used of what he gave me. "Look, I guess she really likes this Ben person. I'm not going to try to convince her otherwise. There are other girls."

The reaction in the chair behind me was electric.

"Who?" Emmett asked, back to the script.

"My lab partner said it was some kid named Cheney. I'm not sure I know who he is."

I bit back my smile. Only the haughty Cullens could get away with pretending not to know every student at this tiny school.

Ben's head was whirling with shock. _Me? Over Edward Cullen? But why would she like me? _

"Edward," Emmett muttered in a lower tone, rolling his eyes toward the boy. "He's right behind you," he mouthed, so obviously that the human could easily read the words.

"Oh," I muttered back.

I turned in my seat and glanced once at the boy behind me. For a second, the black eyes behind the glasses were frightened, but then he stiffened and squared his narrow shoulders, affronted by my clearly disparaging evaluation. His chin shot out and an angry flush darkened his golden-brown skin.

"Huh," I said arrogantly as I turned back to Emmett.

_He thinks he's better than me. But Angela doesn't. I'll show him… _

Perfect.

_So what if she's so much taller than me? If she doesn't care, then neither do I. She's the nicest, smartest, prettiest girl in this school… and she wants _me.

I liked this Ben. He seemed bright and well-meaning. Maybe even worthy of a girl like Angela.

I gave Emmett a thumbs up under the desk as Mrs. Goff stood and greeted the class.

_Okay, I'll admit it—that was sort of fun,_ Emmett thought.

I smiled to myself, pleased that I'd been able to shape one love story's happy ending. I was positive that Ben would follow through, and Angela would receive my anonymous gift. My debt was repaid.

**A/N: Okay, here's the actual story. Enjoy!**

It happened every time I saw him. It made me look like an idiot, of course. When I talked to him it was even worse. My face on fire, my throat dry, making it hard to talk normally, my palms turning wet and clammy and my shoulders automatically hunching. Every time I stood next to him I bent my knees, willing myself to shrink so we would be eye to eye. Cursing my long legs that my mother said were my best feature. That's probably why he never looked twice at me. My best feature were my legs, and while they were closer to his eye level than they were to mine, they were also what made us totally incompatible.

I normally just saw him in the corridors. We only had one lesson together- Trig. He sat just to my left. Sometimes I would gaze in his direction, pretending to be looking at the clock on the wall above his head. The first time we spoke had been in Trig, when Kylie, the girl who normally sat between us, was absent and we had to do work in partners. He'd moved up closer to me, on to Kylie's usual seat, close enough for me to see my reflection in his glasses. We were working on problems, discussing an analysis question. I liked the way he spoke; his voice wasn't smooth or sexy or anything, but I liked the way it sounded anyway. When he'd leaned over I could smell him, and he smelt nice, like deodarant or aftershave, although I doubt he'd be able to grow a beard if he tried. His face was completely smooth, and I wanted so badly to touch it, to stroke it, but I couldn't. I could hardly even talk to him without getting my words mixed up and sounding like an idiot.

I had- stupidly- thought about asking him to the Spring Dance. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. What if he said no? What if he was already taking some one else? What if he just looked at me and laughed? I didn't think he would do that, but still, I couldn't ask him. Besides, I was supposed to be going with Eric Yorkie. Jessica had suggested it- she said I shouldn't go by myself. Only losers did that, apparently. And after being rejected by Bella, Eric was happy to be going with anyone. I didn't particularly like Eric; he was kind of awkward, and the same height as Ben anyway. Jess was my friend, but sometimes I thought she could be a little selfish. I was sure the only reason she'd made me come with Eric was so she had someone else to talk to if Mike ditched her. Which he might, seeing as Jess had been his second choice. Like Eric, he had wanted to take Bella.

I didn't envy Bella, even though almost every boy seemed to like her. Ben didn't seem to, so it didn't bother me. I couldn't really understand her appeal- she was as shy as I was. She was pretty though, in a pale, fragile way. And she wasn't almost six foot. Lucky her.

I saw Ben enter the cafeteria when I was sitting there, eating my lunch with the others. He was with some of his friends that were in his Spanish class. I was sitting down so I didn't look as ridiculously tall, but I still hunched my shoulders just a little. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, trying to concentrate on Jessica as she chatted in my ear. He stood in line, waiting for his food, looking around the cafeteria. Like he was looking for someone. Then he looked at me and caught my eye. I almost looked away, but I didn't. I felt myself going red, and I cursed myself. But I couldn't tear my eyes of his face. Because he was smiling. Smiling at me! And then, after he'd bought his food, he walked over to our table. Jess looked at him critically- she had never liked Ben much. She said he was a nerd. But i didn't care what she thought.

"Hey Angela." Ben said.

He looked a tiny bit nervous- he shifted his weight as he stood next to my chair and fiddled with the hem of his shirt- but his dark eyes stayed locked on mine.

"Hi Ben." I managed to get out. My face was burning and my throat was dry.

"I was just wondering..." he paused, then seemed to make up his mind. "Would you like to go to the Spring Dance with me?" he said very quickly. He was a bit red as well now.

I nodded like a mute, then remembered my voice.

"Yes. I mean, yeah, that would be good. That would be really good." I stammered.

Ben nodded, grinning.

"Cool," he said.

One of his friends from Spanish called him over, and he glanced at them.

"I'll see you in Trig then." he said.

"Okay." I said.

He grinned again and walked off to his table. I watched him go, stunned.

"That was so random." Jessica said. "I didn't know Ben Cheney liked you."

I didn't look at her, I kept watching Ben as he talked to his friends. He was still smiling. He turned his head slightly in my direction and caught me looking at him. I blushed again and he did too, then we both smiled.

I turned back to jessica.

"No." I said, "I didn't either."

**A/N: Hope you liked that. I know it wasn't hugely related to Twilight but I like Angela and I thought she deserved a story. As always, please review and tell me what you thought.**


	3. Carlisle in Verona

**A/N: I thought of the idea for this when I was studying ****Romeo and Juliet****. For those not all that familiar with the play, at one point Lady Capulet says she will send someone to Mantua to poison Romeo, but in the play it comes to nothing. Which got me thinking... why did this never happen? Did the person Lady Capulet send not administer the poison to Romeo? Or did someone else stop them? And could that someone else have been our favourite vampire doctor? **

**For the purposes of this story, Carlisle is in Verona (which isn't that unlikely, he did spend a bit of time in Italy). He's not involved in the feud between the Capulet's and Monatgue's at all, but he does encounter one of the Capulet servants who is in a bit of a moral dilemma...**

**The story's from Carlisle's POV. Hope you like it :)**

I had always found the streets of Verona peaceful and beautiful. It was a beautiful area after all- the cobblestoned streets, the busy market square, the magestic trees in the Sycamour Grove. So much cleaner and prettier than London.

I was taking a morning stroll, as I often did, when I encountered a servant. I knew from his colours that he was of the Capulet household, and so I instinctively steered away from him. I had no interest with getting in the middle of a brawl if the Montague's were to come along, especially with the Monatague's only son, Romeo, being banished to Mantua. The Prince would surely kill anyone involved in another brawl- the last one had resulted in the death of his kinsman, Mercutio, and Tybalt, a Capulet. And so I avoided the servant.

"Excuse me, gentle sir!" he called out to me.

I could hardly ignore him now, so I turned. He was booted, and had clearly been travelling. He seemed very anxious as I approached him.

"What bothers thee?" I asked him.

"My apologies, gentle sir, for my story is long. I was ordered by the lady of my household, the household of the Capels, to travel to Mantua and adminster this poison," At this point, he held up a small vial of clear liquid, "To Romeo, Romeo of the house of Monatgue. And so I went, gentle sir, to Mantua, and sort out to youth, he who slaughtered the newphew of my master, Tybalt. But... but you see, gentle sir, when I found Romeo I discovered that he is the same man that helped me not long ago. I needed to find guests for the Capulet feast, you see, and was given a list of names, but I cannot read. Romeo read the list for me, and it was I that invited him to the feast that night. And I don't know what to do, gentle sir, for upon seeing that it was him I found myself unable to administer the poison, and now I fear the lady of my household shall kill me when she discovers it was not done,"

At this point the servant broke down into tears, falling to the ground and pulling at the hem of my cloak.

"Please, gentle sir, please give me counsel, I can see that though is't a learned man, I beg of your counsel!"

"Hush, villian, stand thee up," I said to him, gently lifting the sobbing man to his feet. "I have a solution to your worries. You shall give the vial to me, and I shall go to Mantua myself, and make sure it is given to Romeo. You shall not have the guilt upon thy head, and Lady Capulet shall never know. After all, Romeo us banished and cannot return to Verona- she will not know if he is killed or not."

The servants sobs subsided, and he smiled at me in wonder.

"I thankee gentle sir, I thankee!" he said, suddenly jubilant. He pressed the vial into my hands, then reached into his pouch under his travelling cloak and withdrew a single golden coin.

"For your trouble, gentle sir," he said to me, passing me the coin.

"No, no, not a penny," I said, pushing the coin back to me.

He didn't argue, and slipped the coin back into it's pouch.

"I thankee," he said again, and then hurried off, leaving me with the vial.

I sighed, and put the vial into my own pouch. I would put it with my other potions. Lady Capulet would never know that the servant had been unsuccessful, and he would never know that I did not complete the task I promised.

I directed my steps to the cell of Friar Laurence. I enjoyed talking with him about plants, although he seemed to have been a little distracted lately. Although I couldn't imagine why...

**A/N: So, what did you think of that? Was my dialogue too Shakespearean? I tried not to include excessive detail that you would have had to seen the play to understand. I hope you enjoyed it. All reviews much appreciated :)**


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